Cry Havoc! And Let Go the Dogs of War...

9/11/2005 (Revisited)

I remember that morning like it was yesterday. I will always remember the intimate details of it; the sights, the sounds, the smells. It was the day that the world changed forever.

I was married at the time and had stepped down to our pond to try and catch a mess of fish for supper. I had several nice ones in a bucket when I heard her call to me that breakfast was almost ready. I pulled out for the house with my pole and bucket in hand, stopping to sit in a chair on the porch to remove my wet boots. The windows were open and the radio was on and I half-listened, half-ignored the announcer talking about a plane crash in New York. I remember thinking that it was only a matter of time before something like this was going to happen. Sooner or later some pilot was going to screw up and hit one of the massive buildings jutting up out of the ground across America...the numbers were just with it.

I went inside and turned on the television and they had a live feed of the events going on. It was just about then that the second plane hit. And my heart broke. God help us all. My eyes clouded with rage, pain, fear, sorrow and a thousand other things all at once as a tear ran down my cheek. In that instant, through all my years of training in the military, I instinctively knew that we were at war. My wife asked me what was wrong and I couldn't find my voice, or my stomach, to tell her what I already knew. I just stared at the screen in silence and disbelief.

As I tried unsuccessfully to choke down the meal she had prepared, I watched in horror as first one and then the other tower crashed to the ground. And I prayed out loud where I sat. I prayed for those in and around the towers, but more than that I prayed for my friends that I knew would soon be placed in harms way once again. Their faces and names raced through my mind; I bet he re-enlisted, he's not retired yet, either...

I got up from the table, walked out the door and pulled my wet boots back on. I picked up the bucket of fish by the steps and walked past the flag flying at the front gate towards the pond. I remember thinking as I turned those fish loose that there had been enough killing for one day. I turned the bucket upside-down, took a seat on it and thought about all that had just happened and was going to happen. It was probably one of the saddest, most helpless feeling times in my life.

I often find myself on the US Army website, reading the names of those who have died in southwest Asia. And yes, I recognize some of them by name and all of them by trade. They were my brothers and sisters and always will be. And I love them all. I would urge each and every one of you to go there for a visit and pay your respects. They are the last barrier between you and the next attack. They gave 'that last full measure of devotion' for you and me.

I think I might take my pole and a bucket down to the pond this morning and try to catch a mess for my friends. I know that they would like that, taking comfort in the fact that they are not forgotten. God love 'em.

July 27th, 2006 - Remembered...

(Brought forward from my old Word Press blog)

Remember when the days were long.
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky?
Didn’t have a care in the world,
With mommy and daddy standing by.
When happily ever after fails,
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales…

O beautiful, for spacious skies,
But now those skies are threatening.
They’re beating plowshares into swords,
For this tired old man that we elected king.
Armchair warriors often fail,
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales…

Who knows how long this will last,
Now we’ve come so far, so fast.
But, somewhere back there in the dust,
That same small town in each of us.I need to remember this,
So baby give me just one kiss.
And let me take a long last look,
Before we say good bye.

Just lay your head back on the ground,
And let your hair fall all around me.
Offer up your best defense,
But this is the end,
This is the end of the innocence.

“The End of the Innocence”, Don Henley-native Texan


LUBBOCK, Texas

For the second time in as many years, a light green sedan with US Government plates pulled into the drive at the Velez home in Lubbock, Texas. For the second time in as many years, an Army chaplain and survivor benefits officer knocked on the door there. For the second time in as many years, the hearts of the Velez home were broken in two as they were told they had lost yet another son to this war.

Roy Velez listened, I’m sure, over the wails of his wife as the specifics of the death were reported to him. His youngest son, Army Specialist Andrew Velez, 22, was killed in Afghanistan while there to search for Bin Laden. His oldest son, Army Corporal Jose Velez, 23, was killed in Fallujah, Iraq in November 2004. Mr. Velez had this to say, “I can’t be angry. I feel like my heart’s been pulled out. We’ve done what the Lord allowed us to do for our country.'’

The family lost its only sons; there is one daughter.

• He was scheduled to return for 10 days of leave during the last week of August.
• After his death, Jose Velez was awarded two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star and a Silver Star.
• Andrew Velez is survived by his parents, his wife, Veronica Velez; a daughter, Jasmine Jade, 5; and two sons, Jordan Davis, 3, and Jacob Andrew, 2.

My thoughts and prayers go out to these people. You can’t be any more American than they are. I pray too, that this mess over there is done before the two grandsons of Mr. Velez are given the opportunity to die for their country as well. How much more can be expected of one family than the price already paid here.

Plowboy